This Western Digital My Passport Pro Portable Hard Drive was received in order to facilitate this review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
My livelihood lives on my MacBook Pro. Since my “business” is online, and all my business documents are stored on my laptop, it would be detrimental for me and my business if for some reason I lost it, the drive hard failed, or someone stole it. I hear stories frequently from fellow friends (who also happen to be bloggers) about failing hard drives. A few years ago I decided it was time that I kept a current backup of my computer just in case the inevitable happened. Thankfully, I’ve yet to experience a failed hard drive but every time I hear about someone losing everything, I always wonder why they didn’t back up their computer to an external hard drive.
Western Digital My Passport Pro Portable Hard Drive
In additional to another external hard drive, I now have a Western Digital My Passport Pro 4TB portable hard drive that was sent to me to test out. Upon opening the package, the first thing that caught my attention was the size of the drive. Measuring in at 3.5 inches wide, almost 2 inches thick and just over 5.5 inches long, it’s much bigger than my other drive, but also holds a whopping 3 TB more. Its size is large, but so is the capacity.
The outside of the Western Digital My Passport Pro Portable Hard Drive consists of a sturdy, anodized all-aluminum enclosure that looks and feels very robust, which should be expected since it is housing multiple drives inside. The rubber bumper around the perimeter of the drive helps to protect it from sudden impacts or drops, but also serves as the groove for the tethered Thunderbolt cable. With the cable integrated into the drive itself, you’ll never lose or forget the cable. There are also four rubber feet on the bottom of the drive to help keep it in place, and prevent it from sliding around. Although it looks and feels tough, there are open holes and easy access points for dust, water and debris.
Since it’s powered directly from the Thunderbolt port on your MacBook, no power adapter is required. But because of its size, you may think twice about bringing it with you when you travel. In general, I keep mine on the desk hooked up to my laptop. If I need to travel with my laptop, whether I bring it or not depends on my reason for travel and what tasks will need to be completed during said travel.
I’m not sure of all the technical capabilities of this drive, but I do know it can be used in different configurations. I don’t know all the technical jargon, but even without knowing what RAID or JBOD is, I was able to take it straight from the box and use it. Selectable RAID or JBOD modes allow you to use the RAID setting that best suits your needs.
My sole purpose for having an external hard drive is to have a duplicate copy of my computer, just in case something happens. Since I became a Mac girl, I’ve been using Time Machine for quick and easy back ups. My Passport Pro is compatible with Time Machine and allows you to quickly back up and protect everything on your computer.
This is the first time I’ve been able to use the Thunderbolt port on my MacBook and I did notice a definite difference in the amount of time it takes to transfer information. It was much quicker for me to use the My Passport Pro to transfer than it was my USB drive.
When you purchase a Western Digital portable hard drive, you also have access to WD Drive Utilities software that keeps your device performing at its best by being able to configure the drives, run diagnostics and more. And more greater peace of mind, each device is backed with a 3-year limited warranty.
Are you currently using an external hard drive to protect your important data and memories?
Penelope Guzman says
We have this! It was a lifesaver when we ran out of room on the laptop.
Colleen says
It is worth it. I lost my external hard drive and lost two years of photos and a lot of other things including all my scrapbook designs I had created over the years. Better to have a backup.
HilLesha says
I no longer save important stuff, such as documents or images on my desktop or laptop, because I never know when they’ll crash. Experiences with this has taught me a lot in the past! Therefore, I always use a portable hard drive. Since I’ve had actually had one to go kaput, I save everything on two of them to play it safe. I have never heard of this specific brand, but I’ll definitely be checking them out. 🙂
Liz Mays says
I’m not using an external right now because I have Carbonite. But if I didn’t have that, I would totally use this.
Whitney @ It's Gravy, Baby! says
I feel like I’m not doing enough right now as far as back-ups so I’m glad you shared this. I have an external drive, but my photos are so important that I worry about it failing too. I’ve never used Thunderbolt on my MAC so I will have to look into the Passport Pro as an easy way to back up my computer!
Leah says
I use a portable external hard drive. I don’t have a MAC, but I am going to ask my brother if he knows about Passport Pro!
Kimberly Grabinski says
I have 2 smaller external drives but I would absolutely LOVE to have this drive to backup our precious photos. 4 TB wow!
robyn says
We have a portable external hard drive that we love. We also have a NAS box that we keep all of our important stuff on.
LyndaS says
I have a different brand and use it when I remember. I am probably living on borrowed time by not updating/backing-up my files more often.
Sara P. (@SensiblySara) says
I need a new hard drive and I like the sound of this one. The 3 year limited warranty is also a nice feature.
Karen W says
I’m afraid to say this out load (or type it) but no I don’t have my current laptop backed up. YIKES!! I’m going to look into this as i have a Macbook too.
Jennifer @ Mom Spotted says
I’m not and the worst part is that I bought one in the spring and I still haven’t actually used it! Thanks for the reminder of how important it is!
Virginia @thatbaldchick says
I have an EHD dedicated to photo storage, but I need a new one for everything else. This looks great!
susan says
I have been looking into getting a hard drive… I love the dedicated photo storage, this would be great for us.
Cinny says
oh my, I need a new hard drive. My laptop is getting so full especially since I use it to back up my cell!
Ellen That Chic Mom says
I wonder if they have a version for other computers? this sounds perfect for what I need but I do not have a Mac.
Raijean says
I’ve so been meaning to pick up one of these. I’m going to check it out.
Lynsey @MoscatoMom says
I lost everything once – so I have had not one but TWO external hard drives ever since. Mike thought I was nuts and made fun of me… until his computer crashed about 2 weeks ago. Thankfully he was able to recover most of it – but there were a tense couple of days of not knowing in there. Guess who ALSO now has two hard drives lol
Little Miss Kate says
Both my laptop and desktop have been slow and acting a little funny these days. Hubs and I were just talking about getting an external drive not only to back up my work, but all of our family photos
Danielle K says
This looks great – love the size of it. I don’t use one, but my husband does.
Valerie Remy-Milora says
I lost my hard drive in April and though I know all too well the importance of regular back ups and had been meticulous about it with all of my clients’ projects when I was editing full time, I had somehow fallen out of the habit… Thankfully my Mac guys were able to recover my data but it cost me a fortune! I now have 2 back ups because the bottom line is that no hard drive is infallible. This Western Portable hard drive looks pretty powerful and reliable.
Robin Gagnon says
I have a different model, but my external hard drive is also Western Digital. I love it.
rachel young says
this sounds amazing! Too bad i don’t have a MAC though
Debi@TheSpringMount6Pack says
That seems fantastic. Does it work with PCs too or only Macbook?
Kathy Godbey says
I have a similar device and it’s saves a lot time in backing my computer. Gone are the days of saving everything to a usb memory stick or even worse to discs!
Nicole B. says
Yes, we use an external hard drive to back up photos and such. I also wondered would it work for PCs or just Mac?
Kelly Hutchinson says
I never think about how much of my life is on my laptop and what would happen if my hard drive crashed. I really need to get an exterior hard drive like this one.
Lena says
It has to be easy to use, otherwise I will just not do it. That is the reason I have been neglecting to do my backups. Looks like a great one to look into
Marina says
I really need to think of getting an external hard drive that can store it all. I have most of my stuff scattered over 4-5 mini external drives. I’m always worried I will lose one. 🙁
Ty says
I seriously need one of these and I’ll be for surely checking this one out!
Kerri says
I have been told that I should be using one and haven’t looked into an external drive yet. This is on my list this season!
Theresa @ Faith and Family Reviews says
I have had a bad luck with external hard drives. I had one quit on me, I have had them not work….I don’t trust them. I have used online storage, but do not really feel comfortable with storing EVERYthing online. I just had to have my hard drive replaced on my Macbook Pro and thankfully the Genius Bar at the Apple Store was able to back everything up for me, with the exception of a few photos, which I think were really videos as they never really transfer smoothly.
Marcie W. says
I definitely need to invest in a secure measure like this external hard drive to ensure I have a backup of all of my important documents, information and photos. This is a wonderful solution and I plan to talk to my brother in law (an IT guy) about a deal or discount available.